Expendables?

[Lowdown3]

What items should be considered in bulk for your medical supplies?

Folks that have ever tended an even semi serious wound realize just how many 4x4's you'll go through cleaning and re-dressing the wound daily.

Everyone wants to talk about the "cool" stuff on the medical end- hemostatic agents, tourniquets, etc. but would about the good ole fashion expendables?

If your going into the PAW with just one box of 4X4's, it's gonna be a rough row to hoe.

What "expendables" do you stock or should people stock in bulk?

[RangerRick]

I buy in bulk with other like minded folks.I always buy by the case. I have worked many disasters around the US and it seems those simple little things get use quickly.

I vaccume pack and then hardpack the goods. I do rotate the creams and meds or donate them as required.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Any "soft" goods such as kling/rolled gauze, 2x2's, 4x4's, abd pads, etc. will be used quickly with just a few serious wounds. Having some ACE type bandages would help as they can be re-used if clean. These need to be bought in quanity as much as possible. I think having plenty of bandaids in various sizes and shapes would help you keep from using the soft goods as quickly especially for smaller wounds. Of course, if without bandages, clean sheets may be your only choice. Maybe using strips of cloth to hold bandages in place would/could replace the kling/rolled gauze if your soft goods were out or running low. Fem. Hygiene pads held in place by cloth sheets is not a terrible plan if that is all you have.

How much do we need? Well, how long will we be without? No one knows how long the SHTF event will last. Soft goods won't go bad if packed properly, so you can always use them when the "crisis" is done. I would agree with RangerRick that vacuum pack or mylar with an O2 absorber would be best.

[RainyDayChick]

I vaccume pack and then hardpack the goods.

How do you "hardpack" them?

[RainyDayChick]

For wound dressing, my plan was to save sterile bandages for wound contact and then wrap over top those with salvaged cloth like (clean) old sheets and t-shirts. Is there a reason why you wouldn't want to do this?

[monkeybird]

Rainyday it will be fine as long at there is a sufficient layer of sterile dressing between the wound and the outer bandage.

You will go through a surprising large amount of 4 x 4 and abdominal pads. It's amazing just how many will be used if you have a large wound.

[alco141]

save your sterile gauze for contact with the wound, i think reusable baby diapers would be good absorbant dressing over the sterile gauze and could be washed and reused.

[goatlady]

For future reference you can pack any dressing material in a vac-pack bag, toss those bags in a pressure canner or cooker for 10 minutes at 10 pounds pressure and you have shelf-stable sterile dressings. Also use that same method to sterilize sutures, medical equipment, what ever really needs to be sterile. Learned that in my Wilderness Medicine class via the doc. Those pressure canners/cookers are really autoclaves and can even be used over an open fire with watchful care.

[MustangGal]

The autoclave we used at the veterinary clinic was just a glorified pressure cooker. There is a tape you can put on items that will change colors once it is sterile. It looks like masking tape, but has black stripes on it after processing. We just called it autoclave tape - not sure if it has a special name.

[goatlady]

Pretty cool stuff, MG. http://shop.mwhitedental.com/Autocla...medium=organic

It is called autoclave tape, indicator, and not very expensive either.

[Cimarron]

I am not exactly sure what you mean by 4x4, 2x2.
Is that any pad or dressing material that is 4 inches by 4 inches and is it a particular type of dressing?

[Mjollnir]

I am not exactly sure what you mean by 4x4, 2x2.
Is that any pad or dressing material that is 4 inches by 4 inches and is it a particular type of dressing?

Yes 4x4 means 4 inch by 4 inch sterile gauze pads.

[MustangGal]

At the vet clinic, we used Nu Gauze 4x4s by Johnson & Johnson. The same stuff they use on people. We bought it as non-sterile and autoclaved it. 4x4 is the size.

There are different types (woven/nonwoven) and brands of 4x4s. Nu Gauze was just our vet's preference.

We divided up big packages, wrapped them in drape material (a paper surgical drape) and secured them with autoclave tape.

[Mjollnir]

For future reference you can pack any dressing material in a vac-pack bag, toss those bags in a pressure canner or cooker for 10 minutes at 10 pounds pressure and you have shelf-stable sterile dressings. Also use that same method to sterilize sutures, medical equipment, what ever really needs to be sterile. Learned that in my Wilderness Medicine class via the doc. Those pressure canners/cookers are really autoclaves and can even be used over an open fire with watchful care.

Awesome info! Thanks for that.

[Mjollnir]

my list goes:

4x4's
abd pads
maxi pads
sterile gloves
Kerlix rolls
tape
betadine
betadine
betadine
betadine